A Book Meme

I saw this over at Esther's place and decided to give it a go.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.

2) Italicize those you intend to read (as in the book is bought and sitting on my shelf).

3) Underline the books you LOVE.

Ready? OK!

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (1/2 the series)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible .
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller – this is not a book I loved.
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare – the book is on a shelf. I haven’t read the complete works, but I’ve read a number of the plays.
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien – I could never get into this one.
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks – never heard of this one
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams – and the rest of the series as well.
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
37. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
40. Animal Farm - George Orwell
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
51. Dune - Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
68. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville – I was supposed to read this one once. I remember sitting in an airport trying to read it. I never made it all the way through.
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome – this book keeps popping up in things I’m reading, perhaps I ought to check it out.
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
79. Possession - AS Byatt -
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens – I’m not sure I’ve ever read this. I might have.

81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte's Web - EB White
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (not all of them)
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (I loved this book!)
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
99. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
100. The Outsiders by SE Hinton

I seem to be a bit light on the Dickens. Hmmm. Do I care enough to rectify that? Interesting exercise. And there is nothing on the list that I intend to read to the degree that the book is already sitting on my shelf. Interesting. Very interesting.

The New Book Meme

I've been tagged for a new and improved book meme by PJ Hoover over at Roots in Myth. This one requires you to use your own book or manuscript.

Here are the rules:
1. Choose anyone of YOUR OWN manuscripts. It can be a picture book, MG novel, an adult novel... It makes no difference.
2. Turn to page 30 of your novel or page 3 if it is a PB
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post the next 5 sentences of text.
5. Then tag 5 writer friends to do the same.
6. See if you can visit Your Tagged Friends and the Person who Tagged You to read their short excepts.

PJ was lucky enough to have the ARC of her new book The Emerald Tablet by her side, so she used that. I will use my work in progress - a young adult novel called Just Meg.

Page 30, 5th Sentence:
“Have a good evening.”

Next 5 Sentences:
And he was gone.
“Are all your dates this interesting?” Jim asked me.
I smiled, but shrugged. “Don’t know. This was the first. Remember.”

Now - as for the tagging writers rule. Here's the thing - most of the writers I would tag were already tagged by PJ. So, I need to get creative. And if I don't get to 5 - oh, well.

I tag:
Barrie
Liz
Alice
Lissa
and Susan

Have fun with it!

A Book Meme

I was tagged by Esther over at A Catholic Mother in Hawaii for a Book Meme. Now, I know I was tagged for another book meme like two months ago - and I still haven't gotten to that one - but that one requires thought and this one - not so much.

The rules are:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

"As we approached from the airport, the bishop pointed out a village. In the middle of the village was a ghost house-the house tambaran.

"I remember vividly my first acquaintance with a ghost house."

And now I'm going to leave you hanging there - don't you want to know more about ghost houses?

The book is "Maria: the true story of the beloved heroine of The Sound of Music" by Maria von Trapp.

It's too bad those were the chosen sentences, I rather like the ones where she's with Bob Hope and he introduces her to Jack Benny who he calls the second greatest comedian in the country, and she asks him "who's the greatest?" Or the time she's visiting a cannibal tribe and asks which part tastes best. But, you'll have to satisfied with ghost houses.

Now I have to tag people.

Liz

Alice

Vivian

PJ Hoover

Cassie.

A Little Meme Quiz

Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii tagged me for this little quiz. So, here goes:

Here's a fun quiz made up especially for bloggers. The rules are easy. Just post the quiz on your blog and answer the questions, then pass it on to five other bloggers, and link to them in your post. Be sure to link back to the one who sent it to you.

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?
Novus Ordo. I've never been to a Latin Mass.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?
N/A

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?
Labels are only good if everyone understands the definition of them. But I guess I'd have to say "post-Vatican II"

4. Are you a comment junkie?
I don't think so. I post comments when I'm moved to. I like getting comments.

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?
If I remember where I've commented.

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?
I don't think so.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?
I'm happy for any blogroll I'm on.

8. Which blog is the first one you check?
Whichever ones have new posts in Google Reader.

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?
Yes. Liz, Barb and Ellen. If I've met others I haven't been aware they were bloggers.

10. What are you reading?
The Love Letters by Madeleine L'Engle .

I pass this quiz on to whoever wants to do it.

Fun Meme - Top 100 Songs from Graduation Year

Esther, at a Catholic Mom in Hawaii, tagged me for this fun meme. What songs did you like the year your graduated from high school.

Bold = I loved it!
Underlined = I liked it
Strikeout = I hated it!

List of songs from this site

Top 100 Hits of 1984/ Top 100 Songs of 1984

1. When Doves Cry, Prince
2. What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner
3. Say Say Say, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
4. Footloose, Kenny Loggins
5. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now), Phil Collins
6. Jump, Van Halen
7. Hello, Lionel Richie
8. Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Yes
9. Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
10. Karma Chameleon, Culture Club
11. Missing You, John Waite
12. All Night Long (All Night), Lionel Richie
13. Let's Hear It For The Boy, Deniece Williams
14. Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen
15. Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
16. The Reflex, Duran Duran
17. Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
18. Jump (For My Love), Pointer Sisters
19. Talking In Your Sleep, Romantics
20. Self Control, Laura Branigan
21. Let's Go Crazy, Prince and The Revolution
22. Say It Isn't So, Daryl Hall and John Oates
23. Hold Me Now, Thompson Twins
24. Joanna, Kool and The Gang
25. I Just Called To Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder
26. Somebody's Watching Me, Rockwell
27. Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder
28. 99 Luftballons, Nena
29. I Can Dream About You, Dan Hartman
30. The Glamorous Life, Sheila E.
31. Oh Sherrie, Steve Perry
32. Stuck On You, Lionel Richie
33. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Elton John
34. She Bop, Cyndi Lauper
35. Borderline, Madonna
36. Sunglasses At Night, Corey Hart
37. Eyes Without A Face, Billy Idol
38. Here Comes The Rain Again, Eurythmics
39. Uptown Girl, Billy Joel
40. Sister Christian, Night Ranger
41. Drive, Cars
42. Twist Of Fate, Olivia Newton-John
43. Union Of The Snake, Duran Duran
44. The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll, Huey Lewis and The News
45. Hard Habit To Break, Chicago
46. The Warrior, Scandal
47. If Ever You're In My Arms Again, Peabo Bryson
48. Automatic, Pointer Sisters
49. Let The Music Play, Shannon
50. To All The Girls I've Loved Before, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson
51. Caribbean Queen, Billy Ocean
52. That's All, Genesis
53. Running With The Night, Lionel Richie
54. Sad Songs (Say So Much), Elton John
55. I Want A New Drug, Huey Lewis and The News
56. Islands In The Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
57. Love Is A Battlefield, Pat Benatar
58. Infatuation, Rod Stewart
59. Almost Paradise, Mike Reno and Ann Wilson
60. Legs, ZZ Top
61. State Of Shock, Jacksons
62. Love Somebody, Rick Springfield
63. Miss Me Blind, Culture Club
64. If This Is It, Huey Lewis and The News
65. You Might Think, Cars
66. Lucky Star, Madonna
67. Cover Me, Bruce Springsteen
68. Cum On Feel The Noize, Quiet Riot
69. Breakdance, Irene Cara
70. Adult Education, Daryl Hall and John Oates
71. They Don't Know, Tracy Ullman
72. An Innocent Man, Billy Joel
73. Cruel Summer, Bananarama
74. Dance Hall Days, Wang Chung
75. Give It Up, K.C.
76. I'm So Excited, Pointer Sisters
77. I Still Can't Get Over Loving You, Ray Parker Jr.
78. Thriller, Michael Jackson
79. Holiday, Madonna
80. Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us, Ollie And Jerry
81. Nobody Told Me, John Lennon
82. Church Of The Poison Mind, Culture Club
83. Think Of Laura, Christopher Cross
84. Time Will Reveal, Debarge
85. Wrapped Around Your Finger, Police
86. Pink Houses, John Cougar Mellencamp
87. Round And Round, Ratt
88. Head Over Heels, Go-Go's
89. The Longest Time, Billy Joel
90. Tonight, Kool and The Gang
91. Got A Hold On Me, Christine McVie
92. Dancing In The Sheets, Shalamar
93. Undercover Of The Night, Rolling Stones
94. On The Dark Side, John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band
95. New Moon On Monday, Duran Duran
96. Major Tom (Coming Home), Peter Schilling
97. Magic, Cars
98. When You Close Your Eyes, Night Ranger
99. Rock Me Tonite, Billy Squier
100. Yah Mo B There, James Ingram and Michael McDonald

Sadly, I don't recognize the names of a lot of these songs. Was I that out of touch with pop culture then too? I don't think so - I think if I heard the songs I'd remember them - but the names themselves aren't doing it for me. And there are other songs there that I remember, but don't have strong feelings for one way or the other. There are probably more songs that I hated, I just didn't listen to them enough to remember the names.

And I'll tag a few people for this:

Liz at A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy

Kelly at Big A little a

PJ at House of Cards

HipWriterMama

and Jim at Haunts of a Children's Writer.

Personal Policies Meme

I've been tagged for another meme, this time by Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. Of course, I was tagged last week, and am just getting around to it now. This took me so long because I had to think about what personal policies I have. I know I must have some. But what are they? We'll find out together.

1) I need to start the day with a shower. When I can't (like when we were having the bathroom remodeled), it throws my whole day off.

2) I try not to say anything mean about anyone.

3) I tell my kids and my husband that I love them, every day.

4) I don't do chain letters. But apparently I do do memes.

I tag, Liz, HipWriterMama, and Sara.

I've been Tagged Back - New and Improved

The 8 Things About Me Meme has fallen into some creative hands and taken a twist. So the new and improved Meme is the "4 new x 2" and I've been tagged back by HipWriterMama, whom I tagged - hah the wonderful irony of it all.

The rules: You have to share four things that were new to you in the past four years. Four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years. New house, new school, new hobby, new spouse, new baby, whatever. Then you have to say four things you want to try new in the next four years.

Okay, I'm game, I'll give it a go.

Four Things That were new to me in the Past Four Years.

1. Blogging. 'Nuff said.

2. The new bathroom.

3. Having both children in school for the whole day. (Which will make me more productive during the day, right? Hah! Double Hah! Where does the time go?)

4. Joining a Writer's Critique Group.

Four Things That I hope to Try in the Next Four Years.

1. Getting paid for writing. Writing for free is fun - getting paid would be very nice too though.

2. Ack - in four years my daughter will have entered the teenage years - I hope to simply survive them.

3. Hmmm - I'm stuck on three - I don't have a lot of dreams and aspirations do I? - I mean, I don't want to sky dive or anything, and I could say I want to lose weight, but that sounds like a New Year's Resolution. I could say I want to bring about world peace, but I'm not a Miss America contestant. -- okay, I know: Read a book in a foreign language.

4. Go to Boston. I've never been, and have wanted to for a long time. That seems like a reasonable goal, since I only live a couple hundred miles from there.

Now, I need to tag people.

I'll tag Liz again, because I can.

AussieAnnie at Under Her Starry Mantle.

Amy Caroline at Knit Together in Love, because tag-backs are just great!

Amy at Between Daydreams.

Jim at Haunts of a Children's Writer.

Sara at I've Got Blister's On My Fingers.

and Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii.